Katie Hopkins has said she has no intention of mellowing her strident views in 2016, insisting she is "fearless".

Speaking to the Press Association about her forthcoming TV series Katie Hopkins: Fat Story 1 Year On, the controversial 40-year-old columnist was unequivocal on the subject.

"I've got to a position where I'm fearless," she said.

"I am impossible to offend so I have no reason to change anything about my views or the way I deliver them. I don't intend changing.

"There's a lot of other people out there with a lot more problems than I've got that need to change the way they see their lives - and I would say Jenni Murray at BBC Radio 4 Women's Hour would be a good example," she stated.

Talking about the BBC, the star insisted the corporation would never invite her on celebrity ballroom series Strictly Come Dancing.

"They would rather microwave their own eyeballs than have the Hopkins on!" she exclaimed.

"I'm sure I'd be voted off at the first go just so the nation can feel like, 'Ha ha! We've spurned the witch'."

Hopkins also dismissed the UK petition sparked by US presidential hopeful Donald Trump's declaration that America should block any Muslims from entering the country.

"T he idea that 500,000 people signed a petition (for Trump to be barred from entering the UK) is absolutely ridiculous. It's typical liberal left 'Ooh, look at me! I'm so empowered - I've clicked on a mouse'," she stated.

But she revealed her pride about Katie Hopkins: My Fat Story becoming TLC's highest rated programme when it debuted with an overnight average of 257,000 viewers earlier this year in January.

Hopkins deliberately documented herself gaining three stone and then losing it all to prove "some fat people are lazy".

"I know people who imagine I must have an ego twice the size of my house, but if I deliver commercially and have some credibility in what I'm doing, I'm grateful for that," she said of the two-part special.

However, her celebrity debate series If Katie Hopkins Ruled The World was cancelled by digital channel TLC, following poor ratings.

It drew an average overnight audience of just 69,000 viewers on its August 6 premiere.

Hopkins is returning to weight issues with Katie Hopkins: Fat Story 1 Year On, the follow-up to My Fat Story.

In the TLC show, she will confront issues stemming from the impact of Britain's obesity problem.

A coffin manufacturer, for example, tells the former Apprentice star about the growing demand for extra large coffins.

She will also discover how well the online "fat club" sparked by her 2015 show is doing.

What started out as four people is now 7,000 strong with a number of successes.

"We've got some really beautiful stories: a woman who was diabetes type 2 and isn't any more," Hopkins said.

"A woman who was given a disabled badge because of the size she'd become, because of her condition, and now isn't, and actually posted her disabled badge back."

Hopkins will continue to speak out on this topic, although she has dismissed Jamie Oliver's 'sugar tax' proposal.

"Do I think the 'sugar tax' is the right way to tackle obesity in Britain? No. Are we fat Britain? Yes. Do we need to nudge people into moving more? Yes.

"Some people would prefer to be nudged and I think giving them a bit of a kick is a better idea."

:: Katie Hopkins: Fat Story 1 Year On is broadcast on January 2 at 9pm on TLC.